New Endings, Old Starts

by David Silver

178 - Whirling Stars

Twilight tapped a set of papers together against the table, held in her glowing magic. "As you can see, reports of injuries are negligible, especially once you filter out the few times she got herself injured."

Starswirl rolled his eyes. "Do you not understand? Even the fiercest beast can hold themselves back for a time, if they know acting quickly will get them nowhere. Wolfponies, and I hate that name, are vicious and cunning. They enjoy pony flesh, and are quite good at getting it."

"Not fair!" Comforting floated just in front of him with a glare. "Cracked and Lily are reformed. We're not hunting dad down anymore. People make mistakes, but those are in the past."

Starswirl hiked a thick brow. "And I am from there. Just because some creatures show some ability to change doesn't mean we should give every murderer carte blanche."

Twilight slid a hoof between the two, separating them. "Calm down... I am actively monitoring the wolf..." She paused. "You mentioned you don't like that name. Is there a better one?"

The wizard stroked his beard. "Lupes Equus, or 'wolves of horse form' in the old tongue. Unlike 'wolfpony,' it carries no false implications of domesticity." His eyes narrowed. "They remain as wild and dangerous as their teeth suggest."

Twilight nodded diplomatically. "Very well, Lupes Equus moving forward." She tapped the paperwork. "As I was saying, officially recorded incidents are-"

"Lies!" Starswirl slapped the table angrily. "You cannot quantify the lingering trauma and loss their monstrous kin wrought!" He jabbed an accusing hoof at Comforting. "And this chaotic whelp coddles the beasts as pets!"

He turned on his heel, robes swirling furiously. "May Celestia have mercy on you, for when blood again stains their pelts, I shall bear witness - I TOLD you so!"

Comforting darted in front of him in an instant. "Hold up! That isn't fair."

"Life is hardly fair." Starswirl glared at her. "Let me past, chaos-spawn."

"Compliments will get you nowhere." Comforting stuck out her tongue. "For real, what will it take to prove they're not secretely plotting to hurt anyone?"

Star's horn glowed with the promise of untold ancient magics, but it faded without bringing it out. "Why Celestia thinks having not one but two chaos spirits in her nation is a wise idea... Very well." He sank to his haunches. "Since you are asking in good faith... I suppose I should return the favor."

Comforting brilliantly smiled. "Great! Good. So what'll it take? We're not trying to cause problems, honest."

Starswirl's gaze remained steely, but the anger dimmed to a simmer. "You wish to know what it would take for me to accept wolf...Lupes Equus as allies?"

At Comforting's eager nod, he conceded gruffly, "It shan't be easy, chaos sprite. Those demons' treachery sank its fangs deep." His hoof strayed absently to an unseen old scar.

"But..." Starswirl's stare grew distant. "You were right in one regard. Any being merits a chance at redemption." He shook off past phantoms.

"As such, I propose a trial period. One year among ponies without incident - attacks, intimidation, or property damage." His eyes regained focus. "Accomplish this without magic influence, only their self-restraint."

Starswirl leaned forward sternly. "Then, and ONLY then, shall I acknowledge peace may persist between our kinds. But they must earn my trust themselves."

He glanced between Comforting and Twilight. "Well? Is one year of civil cooperation too much to ask of former child-eaters?"

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but Comforting beat her to it. "We accept your challenge!"

Comforting burst into giggles. "Technically... We already did that." She waved a panel into being, displaying Cracked and Lily playing with the Small Hunters. "Cracked has been their friend forever, and Lily already wants to be her friend, so she isn't going to do anything that gets her in trouble."

Starswirl let out a weary sigh. "I set that bar too low." He rose and turned in one motion to Twilight. "I turn this on you. An entire year has passed, and you saw no problem with this?"

Twilight laughed tensely, hoof behind her head. "I've... learned to have some amount of faith in Comforting. As crazy as things can get, she seems to have harmony at the center of her thoughts. She was a pony before she was a chaos spirit, I remind."

Starswirl blinked in surprise at Comforting's eager insistence, then scowled. "Do you take me for a fool, witchlet?"

He paced in agitation. "Have you been lax enough to allow over a year without proper supervision or record-keeping of those beasts?!"

Seeing Comforting shrink back, looking stricken, Starswirl checked his tirade with a sigh. "Still, I see you were merely overeager, not duplicitous."

He leveled a stern look at Twilight. "This only confirms closer monitoring is required. We shall establish a formal annual review process tracking any problematic incidents involving the Lupes Equus."

Turning back to Comforting, Starswirl conceded begrudgingly, "Should they uphold model behavior under documented scrutiny, I shall acknowledge your chaotic compassion bore positive fruit."

Twilight advanced with a growing smile. "That is entirely reasonable. As large and potentially dangerous creatures, we should watch out for both their safety and that of their neighbors. They need a little more attention than the average pony, for all creatures involved, ponies or not."

Starswirl snorted, but a little smile crept in. "You turned this into a matter of friendship." He turned for the door. "How like you." He started for that door at an easy pace. "I don't understand everything you do, Princess, but I can't suggest you change it. It seems to be working for you." With a glowing horn, he opened the door to leave.

Twilight waved at his parting form. "If you ever get in the mood..."

He paused, peeking over his shoulders.

"Um..." Twilight paced nervously, words lost. "Just... If you have a moment, and want... I'd love to compare magical notes. I'm certain you have knowledge otherwise lost to us, and I'd love to compare!"

Starswirl chuckled at that. "Sagacious teacher, eager student. No, do not change, Princess." With a final nod, he departed.

The door closed behind him with a resonant thud.

Comforting loosed a relieved breath she hadn't realized she was holding. There was still unease between Starswirl and the Lupes Equus, but for then, at least, an uneasy peace would hold.

She met Twilight's eyes, both smiling proudly. Lofty ideals were well and good, but cultivating true understanding took tenacity and care beyond projected harmony. Their patience had won a small victory today.

Twilight reached out an arm and soon had a Comforting to hug. "Very well done."

"You helped," chimed Comforting, nuzzling her teacher joyfully. "But we did it. No angry mobs or archmages storming down any doors."

Twilight huffed softly. "This town is only large enough for one archmage," she said with a thick accent as if she were in a Western. "And that one's me." She made a noise as if spitting, but did not spit.

Spike burst into laughter, emerging from the kitchen. "I can believe that. Hey, Comfs."

"Spike!" It was a fine time to hug a dragon. "How long have you been here?" She waved the floating panel away, removing the moving image of the playing hunters.

"I live here." He poked Comforting on the nose. "Silly. When I'm not here is the strange part. Good job with Starswirl, I know he can be... stubborn."

Twilight gave them both an affectionate glance as she tidied scrolls into a careful stack. "Having you two around certainly keeps things entertaining. But hopefully, we can expect a little more peace and quiet with tensions easing?"

Spike and Comforting exchanged impish grins. "Yeahhh, about that quiet..." Spike began.

A distant explosion rattled shelves, a pink blur zipping past the windows cackling with glee, trailing rainbow streamers.

Comforting turned in surprise to follow the colorful blur. "What in chaos was that?"

Spike chuckled anxiously, grabbing a water jug. "Oh, that? Well, I was kinda hoping this would make it fizzle out..."

He splashed water out the window. There was a sizzling noise, then Pinkie Pie poked her head inside, mane frizzed out and blackened.

"Aw man, sorry guys! That last batch got a little out of hoof," she giggled sheepishly.

Twilight surveyed the rainbow scorch marks with bemusement. "Dare I ask what exactly you were testing, Pinkie?"

"Extreme confetti poppers OF DOOM!" Pinkie enthused. "I overdid the chaos aura enhancer..."

Understanding dawned on Comforting. "You've been borrowing magic from Discord?" That could explain the uncontrolled explosion of color and mischief.

Pinkie waved a hoof. "Oh no, I ordered a vial special from the magic catalog! Gets a little crazy though." She grinned impishly as her mane slowly re-inflated. "Buuut, I bet with some help I could get the mix juuuust right..."

Twilight firmly shut the window behind Pinkie with her magic. "I think that's enough experimenting for today, Pinkie Pie. Let's let the neighbors rest."

Comforting laughed at the whole thing. "If you needed some chaos dust, you know a friendly source." She hiked a thumb at herself, then another, then another, and another. She kept going until she was a dense cloud of thumbs pointing at herself. "Have you met her?"

Pinkie tackled Comforting, banishing the thumbs in the process of hugging Comforting. "I didn't want to bother you with my silly experiments. It wasn't like it was a big big big deal or anything. I was just trying new things. Ya gotta try new things to have more things ready when you need things."

Spike nodded at the logic. "Makes sense... If Twilight only practiced her magic when she needed it, it'd be too late."

Pinkie's eyes lit up. "Ooh, yeah! All researchy and responsible-like." She flounced over to tug Twilight's hoof eagerly. "We gotta be ready for a super big mega spectacular event, with dances and songs and laughs and games!"

Twilight raised her brow in amusement. "Did you have something specific in mind?"

"Something specific..." Pinkie tapped her chin then gasped loudly. "Twilight's Princess Coronation Day! It's soon!"

She squeezed Twilight's hoof, bouncing giddily. "We gotta make it the bestest most wonderfullest celebration in the history of EVER!"

Twilight blinked at that. "Wait, I'm being coronated?"

Pinkie clopped a hoof to her forehead. "Sorry, that's at least half a season away, silly me. Nevermind."

"What?" Twilight shook her head and started towards the stairs. "Enough for one day. Call me if you need me."

Comforting let her go, her attention on Pinkie. "Pinkie, can we talk?"

"Hm? Silly." Pinkie pranced in place. "We're already talking."

"True." Comforting fired a finger fun at Pinkie. "But I meant more than that. I want to talk about maybe secret stuff."

"Ooooo." Pinkie bumped her forehead against Spike's "Sorry! You have to go, secret."

Spike did not budge. "I live here," he noted flatly.

"Oh right." Pinkie giggled and headed for the door. "Then we should skedaddle for our hush-hush rendezvous!"

She gestured eagerly for Comforting to follow. "C'mon! Let's have a super sneak symposium!" She glanced around shiftily as if spies lurked in every corner.

Comforting laughed brightly as she trailed the colorful pony outside. The moment they were outside, she waved the door shut. "Seriously." Comforting stepped around Pinkie, not even floating. "Serious time."

"Serious face." She waved over her face, adopting a serious expression the moment her arm passed. "Begin the serious conversation."

That was a fairly serious Pinkie. "Good, so..." Comforting points at you and all the other readers. "Can you see them?"

"Who?" Pinkie looks off in about the same direction, squinting a moment. "Oh, hi there!" She waves at some other reader that caught her eye. "Yeah, I see them sometimes. They're funny. What about them?"

She gasped through ten octaves in a sharply raising crescendo. "Wait! That means you see them! Wow. I thought I was the only one." She clopped a hoof to her cheek. "I'd tell you more, but the chapter is ending."

Comforting sighed at that. "Living in a written story can be hard sometimes."

Author's Note:

What fourth wall? I didn't see nothing.

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Comments

[Numinos]

Oh no, there's two of them now.

[Cyana Flame]

it begins

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

waves at Comforting and Pinkie Hi there!

[RyRy]

11769478
There was always two of them, now they just mutually know about the other's "Them"ness

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

Hello you two!

[uis]

Pinkie is my favorite pony

[Poparakelis]

She gasped through ten octaves in a sharply raising crescendo. "Wait! That means you see them! Wow. I thought I was the only one." She clopped a hoof to her cheek. "I'd tell you more, but the chapter is ending."

HEY PINKIE I LOVE YOU YOU'RE MY SECOND FAVORITE PONY, JUST AFTER SHY!

[Reily]

I completely missed this! I love Pinkie and thinks she's the best thing since Banana Bread.